Why Aren’t You Closing? (Video)

By Dana Phillips.

We did a survey a couple of months ago, and we found out that a lot of people are concerned about how to close a recruiting interview. It was the place that offered the biggest challenge to most people.

What we discovered is that a lot of people aren’t closing at all. You are leaving a recruiting conversation with something like this: “Think about it, and you can let me know.” The alternative version is “Okay, so what do you think?” Neither is really a closing statement, so we dug deeper. Why aren’t people closing? What’s the problem with closing? There are three common reasons that you don’t close.

First, you are afraid they might say no. You want that person so badly that your mind ties things up in knots. You start to think that if you ask and she says no then you will lose her and you don‘t want to lose her so you don’t ask. Crazy, huh?

Second, you are afraid of personal rejection. If she says no, you think she won’t be your friend anymore. You are afraid that she will think you are “that person” and will start avoiding you. You have taken a business conversation and made it one about friendship. You are thinking about yourself rather than the other person and why it might—or might not—be good for them. They are an adult and they can choose.

Third, you are afraid of shutting the door. You think that once she says no that the door is shut and you can never go back to that person.

Something I learned a long time ago will help you get past all three of these issues. SW3, which means:

Some will.

Some won’t.

Someone is waiting.

You need to be having enough conversations that you don’t feel like you have to convince them. Your job is not to convince them. Your job is to invite them. Then you can see if they are the right fit.

Think about leaving a recruiting conversation and how you can keep the door open. You want to honor and respect their decision and keep the door open at the same time. Think about the possibility of three kinds of no’s:

Dana possesses a unique blend of skills; her experience in the field, her training as a time management coach, her years as an executive and now her work training coaches from around the world position her as an expert in direct sales coaching.